A native Texan, Deanna Said is a product of the public school music system and began playing viola at age 11.  At age 16 she began formal training two years later became a merit scholarship student at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music, studying with Jodi Levitz.  During her time there she performed in masterclasses for Martha Katz, James Dunham, Helen Callus, and Richard Field.  

After leaving the San Francisco Conservatory, Deanna became a graduate teaching assistant Stephanie Sant’Ambrogio, while receiving her Master’s   Degree in Orchestral Career Studies from the University of Nevada-Reno.  At UNR she was a member of the Nightingale String Quartet, the graduate quartet-in-residence, and was honored with many awards.  In addition to winning first place in the school’s concerto competition, she was also named as ‘Most Outstanding Graduate Musician’.  Deanna is also a recipient of the Sierra Arts Fund Grant, and was awarded the second prize in the 2010 Reno Chamber Orchestra Concerto Competition.

Deanna teaches and performs extensively throughout California and Nevada.  At Lake Tahoe, she was a featured chamber artist in the 2009 Toccata Summer Concert Series and in Nevada was soloist with the Ruby Mountain Symphony in 2010.  She has played in the Reno Philharmonic, Reno Chamber Orchestra, Baroque Ensemble, Nevada Opera Orchestra, AVA Ballet Orchestra and continues to serve as principal violist of the Susanville Symphony. 

While in Reno, Deanna was also a chamber music coach for the Suzuki Music Association of Reno-Tahoe.  Deanna has been faculty at the following summer festivals: La Honda Music Festival (La Honda, CA), Palo Alto Chamber Orchestra String Camp (Aptos, CA) and the String Clinic at Laney College (Oakland, CA).

As a music educator, Deanna believes that a student is capable of doing anything, and that musical ability is something that can be taught to anyone who works diligently. She teaches each student according to their unique set of skills and challenges so that she can help them understand their strengths and build upon their weaknesses.